You’re on week seven of shelter-in-place and all of your art shows and in-person events have been cancelled. This means a regular opportunity for selling what you make is gone.
We now know that varying degrees of this social distancing thing is going to be around for a while. And as a result of all of this, you’re starting to feel the heat of missed sales. And you’re wondering what to do.
Instead of going into a full panic about it all, can you find something else to sell that’s not your art? Maybe a workshop on a technique you use or project you know how to make?
Why Teaching What You Already Know Works
Teaching what you know works so well right now because everyone is at home and starting to get a serious case of cabin fever. They’ve mowed through all the good stuff on Netflix and YouTube. They’ve binged the news at unhealthy levels. And they’re tired of everyday looking the same. They need a break.
Maybe something like this could help you bring extra money in the door? Let’s look at what things you need to make it happen.
In teaching online, here are the basics you need to have in place to make it work:
A skill or project you can teach others
Willingness to learn to teach others online
A computer with a camera connected to the internet
A way for people to pay you
Enthusiasm for your work
You don’t need a certification or a degree. You likely have everything you need to make it work. Just think, you could be someone’s lifeline to stress relieving creativity and community by teaching what you know.
Here’s How to Teach Online:
Decide on what you want to teach
This can be a project like how to paint what the corona virus looks like under a microscope. Or a set of techniques like the basics of how to best use each kind of clay carving tool. Maybe you have a few secret tips you can share for doing something faster or easier.
Decide on a day and time for your workshop
What time of day might work best for your audience? Lunch time? Evenings? Weekends? Make sure you have time to prepare and promote it.
Decide how you’ll present your lesson
This might be that you do a Facebook Live video, a Google Hangout, a Skype video call, a Zoom video call or another method that works well for you. Also decide if you want to sell a live workshop or a pre-recorded workshop. If it’s pre-recorded, you’ll need to pick a platform to share it from.
Decide on a method of payment
This could be that they send you their registration fee by PayPal, Venmo, Square, Stripe, ApplePay, check or even cash. You get to pick what payment method works best for you and your students.
Plan what you’ll teach
Decide how long your class will be and exactly what you want to show your students. Ask yourself, when they leave your workshop, what will they have learned? Include the answer to this in your invitations. Practice your presentation so you know how long it actually takes and so you don’t run over the planned amount of time.
Invite people
Send an email to the people you’d like to invite to register. Make social media posts inviting people. Ask your friends to share the post. Do a lot of promoting of your workshop.
Send a thank you
Thank students for taking that class with you. Let them know you appreciate the support and the community.
The key here is to create something that feels great for you to teach. And that your students will love.
As an artist you’ve got SO many amazing skills. You know your materials and you know your craft. And you know how to put both of them to use to make really cool things that bring you and others joy. So maybe teaching online can work for you!
Take Action
If teaching online sounds like it might be a fit for you, post in the comments to let me know what one or two topics sound interesting for you to teach.
Cheers,
Kate